Creating a Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund: A ... · Creating a Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund: A Guide for Students AASHE PAGE 6 Steps for Creating a Student-led

Creating a Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund: A Guide for Students AASHE

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Creating a Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund: A Guide for Students © 2007Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher EducationPublished April 2007

Authors: Asa Diebolt & Timothy Den Herder-ThomasEditor & Contributor: Julian Dautremont-SmithPhotos & Design: Sam Hummel

AASHE is a professional, membership-based association ofcolleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. Its missionis to promote sustainability in all sectors of higher education -from governance and operations to curriculum and outreach -through education, communication, research and professionaldevelopment.

134-B W. 3rd St., Lexington, KY 40508 • Phone: (859) 402-9272 • www.aashe.org


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Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................ 4

The Case for a Revolving Loan Fund ............................................................... 5

Steps for Creating a Student-led Revolving Loan Fund ................................. 6

1. Develop a proposal ........................................................................................... 6

2. Build support from a wide variety of campus leaders ....................................... 9

3. Set funding goal and identify best funding sources .......................................... 9

4. Target key decision-makers for funding and support ...................................... 10

5. Formalize your revolving loan fund and get moving! ...................................... 11

Closing Comments ........................................................................................... 12

Inset: Campus Sustainability Fund Examples ...................................................... 7

Inset: Potential Funding Sources ....................................................................... 10

Appendix A: Macalester CERF Charter ............................................................ 13

Appendix B: Macalester CERF Covenant ......................................................... 18

Appendix C: Macalester CERF Financing Plan................................................. 21

Appendix D: Sample Project Ideas ................................................................... 22


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We began the effort to create a campus sustainability revolving loan fund as students at Macalester Col-lege during the Spring semester of 2006. The further we got into it, the more we got excited about thisfinancial mechanism. We found ourselves meeting with tax lawyers, investment experts and administratorsabout cost-savings, non-profit legal status, state renewable energy incentives, and the like—concepts thatusually don’t arouse much interest among students. Yet hidden behind the mundane financial lingo was apowerful idea for greening our campus—one that is as revolutionary as it is practical: the idea of fundingenvironmental projects through the savings that they generate. A revolving loan fund can enable projectsboth amazing and ordinary that reduce environmental impacts while creating opportunities for even moreprojects. We call our fund, which is oriented toward energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy,the Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF).

At the time of this writing (spring 2007), we have received commitments of nearly $70,000 for the fund,formed a diverse managing board, and started to develop projects. Most of the work has been done bymembers of the Macalester Conservation And Renewable Energy Society (MacCARES), a student organi-zation. We’re currently researching innovative energy technologies for our campus, working on final nego-tiations for a stake in an industrial-scale wind turbine and creating an “EcoHouse” dorm as a model forgreen retrofitting. Our Environmental Studies Senior Seminar is fundraising for the CERF as its majorproject. We have been surprised and excited by the speed with which this project has taken shape and thedynamism propelling it forward.

Realizing what a powerful tool such a fund can be for campuses across the county, and encouraged by thesupport that the CERF has received from the college’s administration, experts, and our fellow students, wehave decided it is important to disseminate the idea. Many thanks to AASHE for making this possible.

This guide contains key background information about revolving loan funds and provides step-by-stepdirections for establishing a student-led revolving loan fund on your own campus. It’s a work in progress, asour own fund is still in its infancy. Even so, we hope that you will be as excited as we are about the powerof revolving loan funds, and that our work will help you in yours.

Best of luck,

Timothy Den Herder-Thomas ‘[email protected]

Asa Diebolt ‘[email protected]

Preface


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The Case for a Revolving Loan Fund

All revolving loan funds operate on a fairly simple premise: An initial sum of money is set aside for the fund.The fund then finances sustainability projects that have a quantifiable monetary savings or return - suchprojects abound in the realms of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy conservation. A portionof the returns from these projects is reinvested into the fund until the project has been paid off. The moneyis then reused for more projects. Some loan funds are designed to grow over time, so they can provideever-greater benefits. These funds require that projects return slightly more money to the fund than theinflation-adjusted project cost. This does not deter projects because even with this requirement, loan fundmoney is easier to get and less expensive than borrowing from traditional sources, such as banks.

This simple mechanism has a number of benefits:

Reduces the negative environmental impact of the college or university.Investing in alternative energy sources and improving the efficiency of heating, insulation, lighting,or water use can significantly lessen a campus’s environmental impact—while reducing collegeutility bills. Having a revolving fund addresses a major roadblock in campus greening: high initialcosts make many sustainability measures difficult for colleges and universities to finance, despitethe fact that these projects often have long-term cost savings. A revolving fund capitalizes on thelong-term profitability of sustainability projects by covering these initial costs while securing thereturn they produce for future initiatives, making such projects much more feasible.

Saves the college money.This is a crucial selling point for university administrators. Savings or returns from projects fundedby Macalester’s CERF are divided between a “project recipient” (Facilities Management, for ex-ample) and the fund. The recipient pays a pre-determined percentage of its savings—typically90%—back into the CERF until the initial costs plus an additional percentage (allowing for growth)are repaid to the fund. After that point, the recipient receives the full cost savings of the project,which can amount to over 30% of the project’s costs per year. By reducing an institution’s energyconsumption, the fund can also help protect the institution from energy cost spikes, which canplace considerable financial pressure on colleges.

Educates and empowers students.Colleges and universities are traditionally the cradle of social change, educating around 14.5 mil-lion students annually in the U.S. Today, campus greening is rapidly gaining momentum, as col-leges and universities embrace green building, innovative recycling, local food initiatives and otherenvironmentally conscious practices. There are many forces encouraging campus greening, butaction is often delayed because of the initial cost of projects. Revolving loan funds could becomeengines for the college sustainability movement, financing the projects of student environmentalleaders while simultaneously raising awareness, generating funding for larger projects, and givingcampuses an effective, reliable method for financing projects with both short and long paybackperiods.


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Steps for Creating a Student-led Revolving Loan FundThis section describes five key steps you can take in order to create a CERF-like fund for your campus.

1. Develop a proposal

The first step is to write a proposal laying out how your revolving fund will operate. The proposal shouldspecify: a) how savings will be split between the project recipient and the fund; b) how funds can be used;c) who will comprise the board; d) how the board will make decisions; and e) what the legal status of thefund will be. Each of these issues is discussed in greater detail below.

a. Allocation of savingsAt Macalester, 90% of the estimated savings from CERF projects are paid back to the fund annually until110% of the project cost, adjusted for inflation, has been repaid. Alternatively, for longer term projects, 50%of the estimated savings may be paid back annually until 125% of the inflation-adjusted cost has beenrepaid. There are many workable formulas for distributing the savings. Some are designed to grow thefund over time, while others maintain a constant pool of money, only growing in response to inflation.Whatever formula you choose, be sure to create a structure that is flexible enough to work with both long-term and short-term payoffs.

b. Usage of fundsIn specifying how loan funds can be used, make sure you allow your fund to do everything you want it to do.For instance, we created the option to invest CERF funds in socially responsible mutual funds and otherinvestment instruments so that we would have the flexibility to use these strategies to generate start-upincome for the fund. At the same time, it’s important to build in enough rules to ensure that the fund will stickto the original goals. Some revolving loan funds include stipulations that funding can only be used tofinance projects with a certain payback period (often 5 years of less). Such a provision can help achieve astrong overall return on investment; however, it also means that worthwhile sustainability projects withlonger payback periods could go unfunded.

One way to get around this is to allow “bundling” of projects with quick paybacks and those with longerpaybacks into a single application that has an overall payback within the limit. Under such an approach, itis important to realize that each time an “unbundled” project with a quick payback is funded, an opportunityto finance a project with a longer payback is lost. We opted not to require a particular payback period, andinstead gave the CERF Board the responsibility to choose a mix of projects that will achieve a reasonableoverall return on investment.

c. Composition of the boardWho will decide how your fund invests its money? It is important that relevant campus bodies have anopportunity to appoint board members and remain represented, and that no single campus entity has fullcontrol over the fund. It’s a good idea to keep the board small so that it can remain effective - perhaps threeto seven people. Our board consists of two students (one chosen by the Campus Environmental IssuesCommittee and the other by Student Government); an administrator appointed by the president; a facultymember approved by faculty committee; and an alumnus chosen by the rest of the board. We may ulti-mately include a trustee as the fund grows in resources and campus impact. As you design the board foryour fund, make sure that students maintain their voice in the fund’s management. Think also about how to


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Campus Sustainability Fund Examples

There are many possible ways to structure campussustainability revolving loan funds and similar funds. Thissection highlights several different funds that might pro-vide useful models for your own campus.

Harvard University Green Campus Load Fund (GLCF)Started in January 2002, Harvard’s GLCF provides zero-interest loans for projects that reduce the University’s en-vironmental impacts and have a payback period of 5 yearsor less for existing buildings and 10 years or less for reno-vations and new construction. For renovations and newconstruction the fund can only be used to cover the costdifference between a code compliant option and the highperformance option. The fund began with a $3 million allo-cation from the Harvard bank to the Harvard Green Cam-pus Initiative (HGCI). In its first two and a half years ofoperation, GLCF-funded projects saved the University justunder $900,000 a year, for an average return on invest-ment of over 30 percent. As a result of this impressiveperformance, Harvard’s President doubled the fund sizein December 2004, and again in April 2006, producing atotal fund size of $12 million. In 2006, President Sum-mers said that “The best investment in the University isnot the endowment but the Green Loan Fund.”

Innovatively, loans of up to $20,000 are available for fea-sibility studies supporting early project start-up efforts, andloan funding is also available for solar photovoltaic (PV)projects, though PV project loans must still be repaid within5 years even though actual pay back periods are muchlonger for PV. In addition, applicants are allowed to“bundle” multiple projects into a single loan fund applica-tion, as long as the payback period of the bundled projectsdoes not exceed 5 years. The fund is administered andmarketed by the staff of HGCI, which works acrossHarvard’s schools and departments to assist in continu-ously identifying viable proposals. In 2007, an annual ad-ministration fee was applied to all future loans to cover thegeneral costs of running the GCLF. A GCLF Advisory Com-mittee, made up of central administrators and facilities staff,reviews project applications. This peer review process isdesigned to facilitate sharing best practices between fa-cilities staff. To date over $8 million has been invested inover 160 projects across the campus.

Macalester College Clean Energy Revolving Fund(CERF)As described in this report, Macalester’s CERF was es-tablished in spring 2006 with $27,000 in funding from theMacalester College Student Government and Macalester’sEnvironmental Studies department. CERF provides loans

for projects that save money and advance sustainability oncampus. CERF may also fund projects that don’t have afinancial return if it provides striking sustainability advan-tages and doesn’t threaten the long-term viability and suc-cess of the fund. CERF is administered by a 5-memberboard comprised of two students, one college administra-tor, one faculty member, and one alumnus.

Connecticut College Energy Conservation & EfficiencyFund (ECEF)The ECEF was established in 2005 with a $1000 donationto the Renewable Energy Club from an alumnus/trustee.The fund provides capital to help finance infrastructureupgrades or conservation campaigns that make a measur-able and demonstrable reduction in Connecticut College’senergy use. The College then uses the savings generatedby the project to repay the ECEF loan plus market interestrates. The interest rate and loan repayment schedule arenegotiated on a project-by-project basis. The ECEF is ad-ministered by the College’s Environmental Model Commit-tee with the assistance of the Finance Office and PhysicalPlant. The Committee is made up of representatives fromall areas of the campus community.

University of Maine Green Loan FundIn December 2005, the University of Maine Board of Trust-ees authorized the Treasurer to allocate up to $300,000from the University of Maine Foundation for the purpose ofestablishing a Green Loan Fund. The fund provides loansto campus departments for sustainability projects with apayback period of less than 5 years. The recipient depart-ments use the savings to repay the principle, but pay nointerest on these loans. However, University of Maine’sstudent government pays interest on all loans at one per-cent above the going rate of five-year federal treasurybonds. The fund is administered through the Office of VicePresident for Administration and Finance.

University of Michigan Energy Conservation MeasuresFund (ECM Fund)University of Michigan’s ECM Fund does not make loansand is not technically a revolving loan fund. However, itis similar in how it helps bridge the disconnect betweenCapital and Operating budgets that often hinders financ-ing of sustainability projects on campus. It provides analternative model that may be more appropriate or fea-sible for some institutions than a revolving loan fund. TheECM Fund was established in 1987 with initial seed fund-ing of $2 million from the General Fund Utilities Budget

By Julian Dautremont-Smith

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ensure that the board remains responsible to the campus community—board members should be activelyand personally interested in the fund as well as responsible to the various campus bodies they represent.

d. Decision-making processWill decisions be made by consensus, majority vote, or weighted majority? Will there be a chair of theboard, and how much power will the chair have? How often will the board meet, and how will it communi-cate in the interim? All of these concerns should be worked out in your proposal. When crafting the fund,think about the long term. Design it so that creative engagement will be encouraged but abuse will beavoided. You won’t be here to manage the fund forever so you have to make sure things don’t go wrongonce the original creators graduate.

e. Legal status of your revolving loan fundYou will need to find out under what status your fund can operate: as an independent fund under the collegeor university charter, as a campus program, as an affiliated non-profit, or with some other status. Animportant goal is to ensure both strong student affiliation and connection to the school itself. The MacalesterCERF is a “dedicated fund” that is part of the college. In this way, we are under Macalester’s non-profitstatus and have an explicit connection to the college. We have a “covenant” with the college that precludesthe use of money in the fund for any other purpose than that specified in the covenant. Our hope is thatMacalester’s CERF will one day have a very large amount of money, and that the covenant will keep it frombeing raided for other expenses. Our charter details how the CERF works. We recommend that you talk to

to help finance energy conservation measures in GeneralFund buildings. Approximately 50 energy conservationproposals receive support from the fund each year. Thefund is administered by a 4-member Energy ConservationCommittee that includes facilities staff and a faculty mem-ber who review energy conservation proposals submittedby energy management engineers.

The fund has been through several different phases sinceits creation. From 1987-1997, a calculated reimbursementof savings from funded conservation projects was depos-ited into the fund at the end of each fiscal year. From 1997-2003, the fund received an annual allocation from theGeneral Fund Utilities Budget of $2.5 million (instead ofthe reimbursements). This allocation was made on thebasis of a study projecting annual savings of up to $5.7million that would come with the allocation of $2.5 milliondollars annually over a 6 year period. During this phase,funded projects had to have a payback period of less than5 years. Since 2003, the fund has received an annual al-location of $1.5 million, again on the basis of projectionsthat savings of $1 million annually would result from suchan allocation over a 5 year period. In this current phase,projects utilizing durable equipment with a 20-year ex-pected lifespan and up to an 8-year payback are eligiblefor funding. Energy savings generated from projects fi-nanced by the ECM fund are tracked annually through

For more information about these and other similar funds, please visit:http://www.aashe.org/resources/rlfs.php

metering and other data analysis to justify and supportthe annual funding allocations.

Texas LoanSTARThe Texas LoanSTAR (loans to Save Taxes And Resources)Program was initiated by the Texas Energy Office in 1988.The statewide program provides low interest rate loans forenergy efficiency and renewable energy projects in publicbuildings, including those owned by state agencies, schooldistricts, state colleges and universities, and local govern-ments. Projects financed by LoanSTAR must have an av-erage simple payback of ten years or less. LoanSTAR’sNew Construction Program offers loans to finance the in-cremental cost increase between standard efficiency equip-ment and high efficiency equipment in buildings not yet con-structed. As of April 2006, the $100 million fund had made187 loans, including 46 to institutions of higher education,and achieved cumulative energy savings of over $199 mil-lion dollars. The initial funding source was petroleum viola-tion escrow funds from the federal government. TexasLoanSTAR is administered by the Texas State Energy Con-servation Office. Texas LoanSTAR is a useful model forpublic institutions to consider, especially when the funds tostart a revolving loan funds are unavailable at the institu-tional level. In these cases, it may be appropriate to joinwith other institutions to advocate for the creation of a state-wide (or system-wide) revolving loan fund.


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a wide variety of campus leaders and experts before writing the charter, and be willing to modify it asneeded.

Both the Covenant and Charter for the Macalester CERF are included in the appendices to help you draftyour proposal. Our original proposals looked a lot like the Charter. We have re-written the Charter dozensof times to avoid any confusing language and to rule out obvious opportunities for misuse.

2. Build support from a wide variety of campus leaders

To build support for the creation of a revolving fund, you will need to have lots of personal meetings withpeople from all across campus.

At Macalester, we discussed the creation of a CERF extensively with administrators, faculty, facilities staff,student leaders, community members, alumni, and others. While each project is unique, you will probablywant to talk to the following people at minimum: a) an administrator adept in sustainability projects and/orcampus independent funds, b) a student government leader knowledgeable about campus administrationand governance, c) faculty in diverse fields, from environmental studies to economics to physics, who canoffer excellent advice and support, d) professionals - including community members, alumni, and staff -with expertise in sustainable investments; energy law or environmental law, and finance, e) the institution’sfacilities manager, who will be a central partner in implementing campus projects, f) the treasurer or chieffinancial officer, and finally g) the president, whose support will be essential in reaching the Trustees foradditional backing and expanding your fund in the future. The expertise and support these people canprovide is priceless, and the wider the variety of people you talk to, the better you can fine-tune the pro-posal to serve everyone involved. Be open-minded about suggested changes to your proposal. In order tobe successful, a loan fund has to appeal to each member without compromising its overall vision.

When describing a proposed loan fund to a specific audience it is important to tailor your presentation tohow the group defines success. For example, trustees will want to hear about the financial benefits for thecollege, while students might be more interested in discussing specific projects that a fund will enable.Make sure administrators understand both the financial and college-prestige appeal of your fund; thatfaculty understand its utility as a hands-on educational tool to design, propose, and implement sustainabilityprojects using a variety of skills; that alumni and parents understand how a loan fund acts as an innovativeopportunity for environmental leadership; and that students realize how they can use the revolving loanfund to make a difference on campus and in the wider world.

In addition to guiding the initial design of your fund, these conversations will help you identify individualswho would be interested and qualified to serve on the board and can continue to guide its developmentover the long-run. At Macalester three people from whom we sought advice (an independent-fund admin-istrator, an environmental studies faculty member, and an alum with expertise in sustainable investments)are now members of the board.

3. Set funding goal and identify best funding sources

Don’t be afraid to think big and include long-term goals, but be realistic. You want the fund to be big enoughto have a real effect, but practical enough to pitch to administrators. Harvard designated several milliondollars for its centrally managed fund; by comparison, Macalester’s fund has an initial goal of $100,000.When planning to raise money consider several sources (see the sidebar for a list of potential fundingsources). Starting with a small amount of funding and implementing some successful demonstration projectscan be a way to secure much more significant funding from powerful decision-makers. You will likely needa variety of funding sources to reach your goals.

As you seek funding, make sure you have some initial project ideas so that potential funders have someidea of what you’re talking about. Example ideas for campus-based projects include installing water con-servation devices, purchasing energy efficient appliances, generating biodiesel from cafeteria oil, renovat-


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Potential Funding SourcesThere are many potential funding sources that can helpprovide the initial capital to establish a revolving loanfund.

a. Student GovernmentThe Macalester College Student Government provided$20,000 in seed funding for the Macalester CERF. Webelieve it is important to get at least some funding froma student-controlled source because it gives studentsa clear stake in the fund, shows student support forthe fund, and provides leverage in persuading admin-istrators to provide funding. Further, demonstrating thatthe fund will exist even without support from the ad-ministration will affirm the strong intent of students,and will invite more powerful backing from administra-tors who are anxious to be involved in any major ini-tiatives. In our experience, administrators sometimesoppose projects like the creation of a revolving fundsimply because they don’t want to be left in charge ofrunning and funding such projects. Once they realizethe depth of student support for such a fund, they arelikely to be more interested in working with studentsto create the fund.

b. Student FeesStudents at some institutions have raised substantialfunds for sustainability projects by increasing their stu-dent fees. Such increases usually must be approvedby the student body through referendum, and they gen-erally receive wide student support. Raising studentfees to fund the creation of a revolving fund providesa guaranteed infusion of funds each year and offersleverage in convincing administrators to provide fund-ing.

c. Academic DepartmentsThe Macalester CERF was given $7,000 by the Envi-ronmental Studies department, which has a history ofbeing very supportive of student initiatives. The samemay be true on your campus. Engineering, econom-ics, or other departments may also be interested.

d. Campus AdministrationAdministrators can be a huge funding source if youcan demonstrate that a revolving loan fund would pro-vide significant benefits for the financial, environmen-tal and competitive status of your school. Look overyour college or university’s budget and see where theremight be money available. Large investments will prob-ably need to be approved by the Board of Trustees or

Continued...

ing science labs with energy recovery ventilationsystems, and installing glazed panes on campusbuildings to reduce heat demand. There are manyother possibilities, and if you have a really innova-tive project in mind, tell people about it. The mostimportant thing is that your project ideas have thesupport of the people who will actually implementthem, such as your facilities manager. If the poten-tial funder asks the facilities manager about theproject, you want them to get a positive response.

We made it clear that the majority of our projectswould be campus-based, but we also allowed off-campus investments, including a very specific op-portunity only available in Minnesota: Community-Based Energy Development. Through this unusualmechanism, a community partner (e.g., Macalester)finances a small percentage (ours will be 1%, orabout $30,000) of an industrial-scale wind turbinethat is financed primarily by a corporate equity in-vestor. For the first ten years, the community mem-ber, who is technically responsible for managing theturbine, receives a maintenance fee of around$10,000-$15,000 depending on the contract, allow-ing rapid recovery of investment. After the first 10years, ownership transfers primarily to the commu-nity partner through a legal mechanism known asthe Minnesota Flip model; we could potentially re-ceive over $100,000 a year in energy sales after thispoint. This incredible opportunity gave us a clearimmediate target for financing ($30,000, which wereached) and a sense of urgency, since such dealsare very attractive and go quite fast.

As this initial project and other smaller campusprojects progress, we will push for administrative fi-nancing of the CERF, arguing that we have ensuredits long-term viability, but that immediate funding isneeded to create a big impact over the short term.

4. Target key decision-makers for fund-ing and support

You’ll need to identify who the key decision-makersare. This is connected to how you expect to be fundedand how the revolving loan fund will be managed.For instance, as an independent fund, Macalester’sCERF does not need approval, only funding. Tailoryour argument to those decision-makers and try tounderstand what their concerns will be.

We started by soliciting letters of support from theChair of Environmental Studies and from the Cam-pus Environmental Issues Committee, which coordi-nates the initiatives of a coalition of environmental


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its equivalent. They can be convinced of the impor-tance and financial reasons for such an investment,as well as inspired by the visionary leadership it pro-poses. For instance, the president of Macalester Col-lege committed $40,000 to the CERF from his dis-cretionary spending budget.

e. Outside GrantmakersMost foundations and funds do not want to makegrants to other funds so it can be difficult to secureoutside funding for the establishment of a revolvingfund. However, there are sure to be exceptions, andthere may be ways around this restriction. We areseeking grant funding for specific projects that thecollege would agree to incorporate into the CERF asif they had been funded directly from it. Somegrantmakers may be more willing to fund theseprojects if a revolving fund is involved because theirinvestment will have a long-term financial multipliereffect by its connection with such a fund.

f. AlumniAn innovative environmental student initiative like thecreation of a revolving loan fund can be a potentialfundraising asset for an institution since alumni areoften interested in these projects. Your institution’salumni relations department may be able to help youmake connections with and solicit funding fromalumni. However, when approaching your alumnirelations department, be aware that they may see yourproposed alumni funding solicitation as competingwith other alumni fundraising campaigns and willtherefore be reluctant to work with you. Being sensi-tive to this fact, and designing your proposed alumnisolicitation to minimize competition with otherfundraising campaigns should help alleviate theseconcerns.

groups on campus. Environmental Studies was easyto convince, since the CERF will provide a perfectopportunity for academic field experience.

Securing financial support from the Macalester Col-lege Student Government (MCSG) was more chal-lenging, but the democratic design of the CERF andthe widespread student desire to support renewableenergy and campus sustainability ultimately ledMCSG to fund CERF. MCSG has a Capital Funddevoted to on-going campus projects: our $20,000request was a major portion of that fund for the yearand we needed a strong effort to ensure its approval.We talked directly with a number of reps who wewere not sure would support the proposal and madesure both they and the Financial Affairs Committeeknew what we proposed and that the representativeswere well-informed before the vote. If someone doesnot support the need for a CERF, talk to them! Wediscovered that a majority of those opposed simplydidn’t understand enough of the proposal to allocatesuch a large amount of money. We presented at twoLegislative Body sessions, held once a week atMacalester, just to explain the idea. Next, a sessionscheduled for 15 minutes became an hour of intensedebate, after which the CERF was approved by anoverwhelming majority, despite a few vocal dissent-ers. We had forgotten to remove a line related to apreviously rejected idea from the charter; this causeda lot of problems. Review your proposal very oftenas it changes to make sure it says what you actuallymean. MCSG added a few stipulations to the char-ter: first, that one student member should be chosenby the student government, and second, that a com-mittee had to be established to ensure that the finalcharter was as expected.

MCSG’s support was critically important to our suc-cess – it was our primary initial funding source, andgave us leverage in asking for financial support fromthe Macalester administration.

As you work to gain support from key decision-makers, keep in mind that there are multiple ways to reachthem. Getting articles in campus newspapers, generating buzz among students, and building support fromstudent leaders, key faculty, and alumni will ensure that decision-makers hear about the revolving fundfrom many different sources.

5. Formalize your revolving loan fund and get moving!

Once you have funding and general approval from a wide range of campus stakeholders, it’s time to get thefund set up. In addition to a finalized charter, a revolving loan fund will need a covenant - a written state-ment of the intended relationship between the fund and the college. The covenant will require statements ofwhich actions are forbidden and which are encouraged. This is meant to guide the fund, and prevent futureuse of the funds for purposes contrary to its intended vision. This covenant may or may not require theformal endorsement of the college administration—in our case it did not, as the small scale of the campuscommunity and the independent nature of the fund made recognition of the covenant much simpler.


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At this point, you will also need to establish your board, the members of which you should have identifiedand invited to participate beforehand. As stated earlier, they need to be committed individuals from diversebackgrounds who all want to help design projects, review financial proposals, deal with legal issues, andwork with campus administrators, faculty and students.

You should make sure that the candidates for the board receive formal approval from the appropriatedecision-makers as stated in your charter and that the campus bodies being represented feel fully comfort-able with the person who will be representing them. It’s always important to make sure that the people youare trying to work with are both excited about the idea and responsible to the campus body—student,faculty, or administrative—that they are representing. Finally, you don’t want to alienate an important fund-ing source or decision-maker by not allowing them input or influence on the composition of the Board.

When you’re ready and have a starting project, meet, ratify the charter, and start working. Assuming youhaven’t received a huge chunk of money and don’t have great publicity up front, the board will probably beinvolved in securing further funding, publicizing the availability of the fund for public involvement, and inidentifying individuals to fill remaining Board slots, such as (in our case) the trustee board member. Makesure you consult all relevant stakeholders; many projects will involve liability issues, changes to the physi-cal campus, and changes in student life, all of which need to be discussed thoroughly with appropriatedecision-makers and publicized to the whole campus. Try to work with the local community as well—inte-grate community members into the process by funding projects off campus (if you allow this in your charter)and getting the transformative power of revolving funds going!

Closing Comments

Campus environmentalism has too often been viewed as yet another interest group shouting for its own“pet” concern. To redefine our image, we must propose integrated actions with widespread impacts. Wemust position ourselves as offering a new way to do business, guided by a world-view that puts its faith onthe continued functioning of the planet. We do not just want “sustainable” practices implemented—we wantto implement them. It’s not just the “impact” we care about, it’s also the relationships we’re creating. Revolv-ing loan funds are structurally rooted in a systems-based logic that works well within bureaucracies, yettheir guiding vision and ideology fosters community, democratic decision-making, creativity, and ecologicalre-connection. The Macalester CERF is not about resource management; it’s about collectively building abetter operating system. We sincerely hope that this guide will inspire you in the construction of your ownrevolving fund to ride the waves of change to a better future.


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Appendix A: Macalester CERF Charter

Mission

The mission of the Clean Energy Revolving Fund (CERF) is to encourage global sustainability1 on campusand in the community, by funding innovative projects that demonstrate environmental leadership and eco-nomic benefit. CERF will empower Macalester College and its students to build a sustainable community.CERF will foster local projects that further the worldwide movement for a sustainable future. As an indepen-dent fund at Macalester College and administered by members from all parts of the Macalester community,CERF will fund renewable energy, energy efficiency and other cost-saving projects that demonstrate sus-tainable design.

Goals of CERF

To foster sustainable design and environmentally sound technologies and practiceson the Macalester College campus.

To respond to budget shortfalls caused by energy prices by funding energy efficiencyor renewable energy projects that benefit Macalester College.

To educate and inspire all members of the Macalester community about the potentialfor—and benefits of—conservation and renewable energy innovation.

To act as an exemplar of socially and environmentally responsible financial practices.

To serve as a role model on sustainability initiatives for other institutions of highereducation, community groups, non-profit organizations, businesses, and governmen-tal bodies.

To sustain itself financially and functionally into the foreseeable future without com-promising— where possible supporting—other student, community, and institutionalinitiatives for a socially and environmentally just, benign, and sustainable world.

After receiving initial start-up capital, CERF will be entirely self-funding and will grow over time. Through arevolving mechanism drawing cost-savings from projects, CERF will replenish the fund while providingcost-savings to Macalester. CERF will make it easy and efficient for students and other Macalester commu-nity members to design projects. This will provide an unrivaled hands-on opportunity for individually struc-tured environmental education while raising the awareness of the entire community. Furthermore, it willdemonstrate that, contrary to common belief, self-funding sustainability projects are a crucial part of fiscalstability.

Structure of CERF

CERF will be managed by “The CERF Board,” a body composed of one trustee, one college administrator,one faculty member, one alumnus/ae, and two students. The CERF board will act as a decision-making,financing, and implementing body for conservation, renewable energy, and sustainability initiatives onMacalester College’s campus.

[1] Sustainability as defined by the Brundtland report: meeting the needs of the present generation without compromis-ing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.


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One member must be a Macalester college trustee approved through the board of trustees.

One member must be a Macalester College administrator approved by the president of the college.

One board member must be Macalester College faculty appointed by the faculty, if possible from environ-mental studies or a related field.

One board member must be a Macalester alumnus/ae. Alumni board members with relevant interests andexperience will be selected by the CERF board.

Two members must be Macalester students. One will be appointed by the Campus Environmental IssuesCommittee (CEIC) while the other will be an elected member of the Macalester College Student Govern-ment (MCSG). The MCSG representative will be approved by the MCSG.

Terms will be for two years, excepting the MCSG representative who shall be approved annually. Terms canbe modified based on scheduling. Any board member can be reappointed by the designated body forfurther terms. New, qualified board members, however, should be appointed when possible. Should a boardmember resign, a replacement should be chosen through the established method at the earliest availableopportunity.

Procedural Process for CERF

The CERF board members will communicate primarily via email on smaller proposals and ideas. The boardwill meet at least three times a year—while classes are in session—to discuss and approve larger projects,investments and management strategies. Co-chairs will be elected by the board for a one-year term. Anyboard member may propose a project, and other members of the Macalester community may also presentproposals to the Board. While unformulated ideas may be presented briefly for Board discussion, sugges-tions, and help with proposal development, only thorough proposals with a clear target, financial plan,implementation plan and time line will be voted on.

It is expected that Macalester Conservation and Renewable Energy Society (MacCARES) will serve as aprimary agency to help community members develop proposals, and anyone with an idea will be encour-aged to work with the organization to develop a plan, although proposals from any source will be acceptedfor review. Cooperation, involvement, and discussion with CEIC, Facilities Management, and any othercommittees, departments, or other entities relating to the project will be strongly encouraged.

At meetings, the board will discuss policy, management strategies, and large proposals, and may modifythese proposals either by scale, implementation plan, or financial parameters before voting on the pro-posal. Any board member may call for a vote. Consensus should be achieved where possible, but deci-sions will be made by majority rule subject to the consensus requirements cited below. Proposals for projectsunder $2,000 may be proposed through e-mail (other members must be emailed with notification of theproposal) and the co-chairs may approve such proposals two weeks after email notification, unless anothermember objects.

Should a proposal pass, the board and non-board participants must proceed with implementation as rapidlyas possible, including funding, installation, advertising and education. Students who are not board mem-bers should be involved in proposal implementation whenever possible, particularly in publicizing the projectand community education.

The board may approve by concensus a finance mechanism for a particular project other than the onesoutlined below, should the nature of the proposal or existing conditions merit such a change. The boardmay also modify existing payment plans by consensus at the request of the cost-savings recipient, as longas the alternative maintains the long-term financial viability of CERF. Special flexibility should be given incases where energy cost pressures, such as unexpectedly high fuel prices, result in the need for a modifi-cation, as in allowing the cost saver to receive a higher percentage of the cost-savings immediately by


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deferring more of the payment into the future. Requests for such plan modifications, with an alternativeproposal, can be proposed to the board by the financial recipient of a project’s cost-savings.

The board may send suggestions to various campus bodies as to how they can operate in a more sustain-able and/or cost-saving fashion without necessitating additional funding. Such suggestions should be ap-proved by consensus.

The representatives on the board are responsible for presenting a report on the activities of CERF, on anannual basis, to the body they are representing. This report may highlight items of particular interest to theirconstituency, but should all contain a summary of projects funded by the CERF board, the long-term finan-cial outlook, and the level of community involvement in project activities.The board may amend this charter by consensus.

Funding Projects

This funding will primarily be used for projects that save money for a specific recipient(s) on fuel, electricity,water, building maintenance, storm water fees, or some other (or multiple) cost source(s) while making apositive impact on sustainability. The designer(s) of the proposal should choose one of the two fundingparameters below based on feasibility and financial pressures on the recipient in terms of project size andpay-back period. The board may modify these plans, or an alternative strategy may be developed in theproposal.

From a project’s calculated (or best estimate) annual savings, 50% of the cost savings will be paid to thefund by the cost-savings recipient. The other 50% of savings will accrue to the recipient of the project,providing some immediate financial relief. This process will be repeated over subsequent years until 125%of the initial project cost (adjusted for annual inflation) has accrued to the fund. After this point, all furthersavings will accrue to the project’s recipients.

From a project’s calculated (or best estimate) annual savings, 90% of the cost savings will be paid to thefund by the cost-savings recipient and the other 10% of savings will accrue to the recipient of the project.This process will be repeated over subsequent years until 110% of the initial cost (adjusted for annualinflation) of the project has accrued to the fund. After this point, all further savings will accrue to the project’srecipients.

If at all possible, exact cost-savings measurements should be obtained, but in cases where this is unfea-sible or costly, an educated estimate should be used. For example, the known energy savings ratio of acompact fluorescent light-bulb (CFL) should be used where the exact effect on electricity usage of a certainnumber of CFLs may be hard to measure quantitatively through electricity readings. The CERF board willdecide whether exact or estimated savings are appropriate for each project.

Modified payment plans may be designed or approved either from the start or later in project lifespan byrequest of the cost-savings recipient and approved by the board by consensus should conditions merit. Allmodifications may adjust the overall inflation-adjusted return goal in accordance with the change in projectpayment lifespan—accelerated payback should decrease overall return—so modifications should be seenas an adjustment of the balance between the period and the size of payback.

In all cases, project proposals should take advantage of local, state, or federal incentives for renewableenergy or efficiency investments. In particular, state revolving loan funding can be used to maximize projectinvestment, by buying back 50% of a project’s debt to 0% interest. These incentives are liable to changedue to new legislation and the CERF board should advise groups developing project proposals to researchgovernmental incentives to include in their financing plan.


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Occasionally, in exceptional circumstances, CERF may approve a project by consensus that does notproduce a financial return should it:

Provide striking sustainability advantages or

Offset unusually high energy costs, as long as

Such a project does not threaten the long-term viability and success of CERFbecause other projects are adequately funding CERF to make up for the loss.

Funds for projects may be used for:

Materials or products that constitute the project—often the primary cost.

Professional work, installation, or design— costs should be minimized when pos-sible, but for some projects, this may be the primary cost.

Research and testing or monitoring equipment—costs should be minimized, bar-ring exceptional circumstances, which must be approved by the board by consen-sus.

Community education, outreach, and publicity—costs should be minimized, bar-ring exceptional circumstances which must be approved by the board by consen-sus.

Proposal Development—costs should be eliminated, if possible. Student, staff, andfaculty volunteer work should be utilized to the greatest extent possible. The re-search of proposals, technologies, existing campus conditions, and implementa-tion strategies should be conducted through independent studies with professorsto the greatest extent possible. Any campus surveying or similar work should beconducted through student groups such as: MacCARES, the Macalester Conser-vation Corps (MCC), Macalester’s Minnesota Public Interest Research Group(MPIRG), Mac Bike, or MULCH. If possible, any funding required to develop theproposal itself should be found elsewhere, but the board may approve such fund-ing by consensus.

Staff and work—the board may approve a salary by consensus—if possible, for astudent employment position—for a work position(s) for a designated project(s)should conditions merit and the added cost still yields cost-savings to repay CERF.In some cases, a work position could be a proposal on its own, as long as over-allcost savings would still be realized. CERF should accept a minor loss should sucha position yield dramatic benefits to campus sustainability or show potential to leadto other projects with better financial potential.

Investments and Revenue Generation

CERF may also invest in conventional investment strategies that support its financial viability such asgreen investment funds, community investing, or money markets, as well as make innovative investmentsgenerating direct revenue such as the C-BED project proposal, as long as such investments further one ormore goals of CERF without significantly compromising any of the others. To this end, investments that arehighly liquid, or have a high rate of return will be particularly favored since they are less likely to lock upfunding from core cost-saving projects. However, long term fiscal responsibility and the goals of sustainability,innovation, education, and community engagement should also be kept in mind. Since such investmentsare not savings-inducing, they will not be subject to revenue-splitting as funded projects are, and shouldinstead be viewed as methods to manage CERF’s funding flow in a socially and environmentally respon-sible manner. Specifically, CERF should not invest in any projects, businesses, or companies which pro-


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mote unsustainable practices, non-renewable resources—particularly fossil fuel, nuclear, or large scalehydroelectric—or a culture of disposal.

In certain cases, CERF may solicit loans from outside financiers interested in promoting innovation inenvironmental sustainability at Macalester. Such loans should be used for large projects yielding a returnwhich can be used to repay the loan.

CERF should identify and apply for grants that support its core mission. In particular, it should seek topartner with grant providers to fund particular projects.

Management and Project Type Parameters

The CERF Board should be open both to smaller, rapid pay-back projects and larger, longer-term ones. Allprojects should seek to maximize the overall benefits of sustainability in a financially responsible manner.The Board should not exhaust the fund or over-use long-term projects in a single year to the extent that theamount of funding available for projects in the subsequent year is less than half that available in the currentyear. That is, as least 50% of the fund’s value in a current year must either be held in a liquid investment orbe regenerated through project or investment revenue or payback by the beginning of the following year.This target should be seen as flexible, and should not preclude the funding of any important, large, andlong-term financially viable projects.

Applicable sustainability initiatives vary widely in type, source of savings, scale, and pay-back period.Simple projects such as refitting all incandescent light-bulbs on campus with compact fluorescent lamps orweatherizing old windows with more insulating glass and frames (lighting or weatherizing) tend to have oneto two year payback times while others (photovoltaic cells for example) have pay-offs around 15+ years andare relatively expensive for installations of any size. Others, such as solar thermal or geothermal (alterna-tive heating systems), are somewhere in the middle, but paybacks depend highly on fuel prices, which arehighly variable but tend to rise over time. Specific campus conditions (for example, an efficient districtheating system) also affect pay-off rates. All proposals should therefore be developed with a finance planreflecting such conditions as accurately as possible and with the participation, advice, and/or help of manycampus community members.


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Appendix B: Macalester CERF Covenant

MISSION

The Clean Energy Revolving Fund’s mission is to encourage global sustainability1 on campus and in thecommunity, by funding innovative projects that demonstrate environmental leadership and economic ben-efit. CERF will empower Macalester College and its students to build a sustainable community. CERF willfoster local projects that further the worldwide movement for a sustainable future. As an independent fundat Macalester College and administered by members from all parts of the Macalester community, CERF willfund renewable energy, energy efficiency and other cost-saving projects that demonstrate sustainable de-sign.

GOALS OF CERF

1. To foster sustainable design and environmentally sound technologies and practices onthe Macalester College campus.

2. To respond to budget shortfalls caused by energy prices by funding energy efficiency orrenewable energy projects that benefit Macalester College.

3. To educate and inspire all members of the Macalester community on the potential for,and benefits of, conservation and renewable energy innovation.

4. To act as an exemplar of socially and environmentally responsible financial practices.

5. To serve as a role model on sustainability initiatives for other institutions of higher edu-cation, community groups, other non-profit organizations, businesses, and governmen-tal bodies.

6. To sustain itself financially and functionally into the foreseeable future without compro-mising— where possible supporting—other student, community, and institutional initia-tives for a socially and environmentally just, benign, and sustainable world.

Through a revolving mechanism drawing revenues from projects, CERF will replenish the fund while pro-viding cost-savings to Macalester. This will provide an unrivaled hands-on opportunity for individually struc-tured environmental education while raising the awareness of the entire community. Furthermore, it willdemonstrate that, contrary to common belief, self-funding sustainability projects are a crucial part of fiscalstability.

FUNDING PROJECTS

This/CERF funding will primarily be used for projects that save money for a specific recipient(s) on fuel,electricity, water, building maintenance, storm water fees, or some other (or multiple) cost source(s) bymaking a positive impact on sustainability. The CERF Board should be open both to smaller, rapid pay-backprojects and larger, longer-term ones. All projects should seek to maximize the overall benefits of sustainabilityin a financially responsible manner.

[1] Sustainability as defined by the Brundtland report: meeting the needs of the present generation without compromis-ing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.


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EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS

Efficiency Investments: Installation of high-efficiency pumps, equipment, lighting, boil-ers, and air conditioners. The weatherization of campus windows with modern high-insu-lating glass and frames, and installing energy recovery ventilators on Olin-Rice ventilationhoods. Payment of the marginal difference between more efficient models of equipment.

Water Conservation: Repairing water leaks and installing additional low-flow appliances,installation of systems that recover or reuse wastewater.

Renewable Fuels: Manufacture of biodiesel from waste oil from cafeteria and local busi-nesses or other uses of clean biomass-based fuels not requiring extensive additional fossilenergy inputs.

Renewable Energy: The installation of on-campus renewable energy systems, such aswind power, solar thermal or photovoltaic, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and micro-hydro-power. Investing in community-based renewable energy projects.

Green Building: Investing in equipment or design of green building, like passive solarheating or green roofing, that provides measurable cost-savings.

EXAMPLES OF INAPPROPRIATE PROJECTS

Fossil Fuels: CERF should not invest in any project using fossil fuels, unless the projectleads to a significant net decrease in the consumption of fossil fuels and greenhouse gasemissions.

Non-renewable Resources: CERF funding should never be invest in or used to developprojects using technologies such as nuclear energy, large-hydroelectric dams, toxic build-ing materials, and other unsustainable practices.

Renewable Energy tags/offsets: CERF funding should not be used for the purchase ofgreen tags, renewable energy certificates, or other offsets. Instead, CERF should aim toinvest in projects that provide economic savings and environmental leadership to the col-lege.

Budget Shortfalls: CERF funding should never be used to cover college budget short-falls, except by investing in projects that meet CERF standards.

Staffing/Salaries: CERF funds must never be used for the following: faculty or staffsalary or wages except for in association with a CERF project.

INVESTMENTS

CERF may also invest in conventional investment strategies that support its financial viability such asgreen investment funds, community investing, or money markets, as well as make innovative investmentsgenerating direct revenue, as long as such investments further one or more goals of CERF without signifi-cantly compromising any of the others. However, long term fiscal responsibility and the goals of sustainability,innovation, education, and community engagement should be emphasized. Such investments should beviewed as methods to manage CERF’s funding flow in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.


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CERF should not invest in any projects, businesses, or companies which promote unsustainable practicesor use non-renewable resources—particularly fossil fuels, nuclear, or large-scale hydroelectric—or a cul-ture of disposal.

STRUCTURE OF CERF

CERF will be managed by “The CERF Board,” a body initially composed one college administrator, onefaculty member, one alumnus/ae, and two students. The faculty representative will be appointed by theappropriate faculty committee. The administrator will be appointed by the President of the college. Of theMacalester student representatives, one will be appointed by the Campus Environmental Issues Commit-tee (CEIC) while the other will be an elected member of the Macalester College Student Governmentapproved by the MCSG. The Macalester alumnus/ae will be selected by the CERF board. A member of thecollege Trustees may join the Board as is appropriate for its role in broader Macalester management.

The CERF board will act as a decision-making, financing, and implementing body for conservation, renew-able energy, and sustainability initiatives on Macalester College’s campus.

Terms will be for two years, excepting the MCSG representative who shall be approved annually. Terms canbe modified based on scheduling. Should a board member resign, a replacement should be chosen throughthe established method at the earliest available opportunity.

PROCEDURAL PROCESS FOR CERF

At meetings, the board will discuss policy, management strategies, and large proposals, and may modifythese proposals either by scale, implementation plan, or financial parameters before voting on the pro-posal. Any board member may call for a vote. Consensus should be achieved where possible, but decisionswill be made by majority rule subject to the consensus requirements cited in the Charter. Proposals forprojects under $2,000 may be approved by the co-chairs between board meetings unless another memberobjects.

The board may send suggestions to various campus bodies as to how they can operate in a more sustain-able and /or cost-saving fashion without necessitating additional funding.


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Appendix C: Macalester CERF Financing Plan

A fund designated solely for efficiency and sustainability projects will prevent rising energy costs frominhibiting projects which would reduce the pressures from those costs. Such an innovative solutionwould make Macalester a national leader with a creative model for financing sustainability which otherinstitutions could follow. Harvard’s example has shown that revolving mechanisms for sustainabilityprojects are very lucrative economically (Harvard’s $6 million Green Campus Loan Fund has achievedan average annual Return On Investment of 27.9%1). However the full integration of community lededucational innovation with the financing technique has not been utilized by Harvard or other revolvingfunds. Thus our fund would be a particularly apt representation of Macalester’s engagement, diversityand dynamism.

FINANCING CERF

Pending approval, CERF will receive phased start-up funds totaling $100,000 from the following sources:

Phase I: Spring 2006 – $27,000Approved:

$20,000 from the MCSG capital fund. Approved by the MCSG LB on April 18, 2006,conditional on the inclusion of a MCSG representative to the CERF board – includedApril 22.

$7,000 from Environmental Studies, approved April 11.

Phase II: Fall 2006 – $40,000Approved:

$40,000 from the president’s discretionary funding, allocated as CERF developsprojects to utilize it.

Phase III: Spring 2007 – $33,000

Goal updated early 2007: upon clarification from the administration that CERF will be expanded increas-ingly in the future should it prove that it can achieve cost savings through student leadership, the stu-dents developing CERF have focused on implementing an initial series of projects rather than on secur-ing the original $100,000 goal. Supporting projects are engaging additional grant opportunities.

If managed well, CERF should have a high rate of return. A similar fund at Harvard University that did notsplit savings between the recipient and the fund (all savings went directly to the fund until pay-off)achieved average 27.9% return on investment (ROI) through a mix of short and long-term projects. TheMidwest provides even more lucrative renewable energy and conservation potential. We should expect asimilar average ROI, although it will be split between CERF and project recipients (primarily the collegeitself), which is more favorable for Macalester since it lacks the unusual financial assets of Harvard.

[1] see http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/gclf/achievements.php


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Appendix D: Sample Project Ideas

These are just a handful of project ideas to help you get started:

Installing motion sensors (vending misers) on vending machines to reduce powerusage.

Installing motion sensors in class rooms and other areas that are unoccupied for longperiods of time.

Renegotiating a washing machine contract and paying the marginal difference of moreefficient, front-loading washing machine models, which can further displace dryerusage.

Paying for building re-commissioning.

Installing low-flow water appliances.

Installing high-efficiency pumps, equipment, boilers, and air conditioners.

Payment of the marginal difference in cost between more conventional and moreefficient equipment models.

Replacing single-pane campus windows with modern high-insulating glass andframes.

Replacing all incandescent light bulbs with CFLs.

Installing energy recovery ventilators on science building ventilation hoods.

Installing solar thermal systems and other renewable heating systems.

Installing photovoltaic panels.

Installing wind tubine(s).

Documents

Creating a Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund: A ... · Creating a Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Fund: A Guide for Students AASHE PAGE 6 Steps for Creating a Student-led